Lalith Rao: Singing Workshop

Oct 30, 1993

The following text is taken from Front Magazine vol. V, no. 1, p. 15, September/October 1993:

Lalith Rao is one of the highly respected representatives of the Agra style of classical singing of the Orth Indian tradition. She was trained in the Agra style in her early childhood by Pandit Ram Rao Naik in Bangalore. An all-rounder accomplished in academics as well as sports, Lalith prepared herself for a career in electronics with a masters degree from the University of New Brunswick. After that she returned to music with the year of advanced training with Pandit Dinkar Kaikini of Bombay. She was then groomed for twelve years by Padma Bhushan Ustad Khadim Husain Khan, a highly renowned teacher of the Agra gharana.

With persistent effort and use of her natural talent Lalith has imbibed the complex melodic and rhythmic patterns typical of the Agra gharana to create a unique style of her own. She is equally at ease an extended renditions of serious ragas as she is in short, attractive presentations of lighter forms such as dadras, horis and bhajans (devotional songs). She has appeared in major festivals throughout India, and has widely toured in Europe and North America.

The workshop will be conducted in the oral tradition and is open to musicians, singers and all music enthusiasts and warblers!